


Tongue Tied

by RobNips



Series: Fairgame Week 2020 [6]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Clover is as Smooth as Ever, Dress Up, Flirting, M/M, Missing Scene, No Cravats but Ties, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Qrow is Trying, Suits, Ties & Cravats, atlas ball, wardrobe changes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23239537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobNips/pseuds/RobNips
Summary: As a favor to James, Qrow tries to dress the part of a professional, elite huntsman who can blend into the professional, elite Atlas crowd. Clover offers some assistanceWritten for Fairgame Week - Atlas BallCan be read as a standalone fic!
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Fairgame Week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1663636
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53





	Tongue Tied

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the fan-favorite scenario of Atlas Ball!!! And my first fic for Fairgame Week that is NOT established relationship lol  
> Takes place before chapter 8 of volume seven, with a few changes (mostly wardrobe-based - this is a scene we deserved)  
> Enjoy!

Qrow sighed as he glared into the mirror. The silk tie in his hands looked more like a child’s practice effort rather than a professional huntsman. Almost twenty-five years in the field and Atlas still has him do shit like _this_ to be taken seriously. 

Qrow rolled his eyes, and took a deep breath. 

This was a favor for James, gods know he needs as many of those as he can get. Qrow had been threatening to trash the infamous Schnee manor for years, and while Winter might actually be on his side this time - for once - they were all ordered to be on their best behavior. Professionals. Highly trained huntsmen and huntresses. Who dressed the part. Including suits and ties for those who didn’t want dresses, despite all of Qrow’s efforts. 

Apparently his experience as one of Vale’s best meant nothing to a bunch of Atlas Elites. He had to dress up and dance for them too. 

“You’re going to burn my ear!” 

“I’m nowhere close to your ear! Stay still!” 

He heard the shout from down the hall. Qrow scoffed, at least the girls were having fun. Not _excited_ , for sure, but it had been too long since they had an opportunity like this. Hair and makeup and dresses - a bit of normality after months of nonstop missions was good for them. Qrow was determined not to embarass them either. 

“Shit,” he cursed as his latest tying attempt ended up lopsided again. 

“Everything good?” A small knock and a voice at his door made Qrow turn. He had to suppress his smile at Clover’s curious look, brows up and a small grin across his face. 

The Ace Op was dressed and ready, a sleek looking black tux with dark green piping. His military honors were hung on one breast. Green buttons and little clover cufflinks made the suit his own. Qrow suddenly couldn’t stop noticing how little effort he put into his own suit against Clover, who clearly did. 

And how his hands were still tangled in his tie.

“Great,” Qrow scoffed as an answer. “I heard someone was getting burned down the hall, might want to check that out.” Qrow didn’t want him to leave more than he just didn’t want Clover to see him like this.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’re fine.” Clover laughed, but did not catch the hint. He nodded to Qrow’s neck. “Are you good though?”

“Ph,” Qrow rolled his eyes, and turned back to the mirror to hide the heat in his cheeks. He started fiddling with the tie again. “Out of practice maybe, but I don’t think you’re friends at a place like the Schnee Manor will accept this.” He turned again and gestured to another uneven attempt at the knot. 

Clover shook his head, but kept that smile on his face. “Here,” he invited himself into Qrow’s room, waiting for him to nod before starting to untie the silk. “I wouldn’t say that they’re my friends.” He corrected as he worked. 

“Well I hope not.” Qrow said, just to try to distract himself from Clover being so close to him. He could smell the mint in his breath. Qrow was thankful for the countless time that he did not smell like booze. “But you know how to do this.” 

Clover just shrugged. “I’m a product of my upbringing, I’m afraid. You seem to have a good start for this though.” 

“Yeah,” Qrow scratched the back of his neck. “An old friend taught me back when we were school. Ruby and Yang’s dad, actually.” He scoffed. “I probably haven’t done it since his wedding though.” 

“That must have been nice.” Clover finished his work, smoothing his tie down Qrow’s chest. His heart skyrocketed, Qrow hoped Clover couldn’t feel it pounding. 

He swallowed, and forced himself to answer as Clover stepped back. “It was. Nothing like this, though." 

Clover laughed, with his smile that revealed his dimples. Qrow mirrored him without realizing. "It's not for everyone. Sometimes, smaller is better. More intimate." 

He _must_ be able to hear how loud his heart was, Qrow just knew it. "It was. He's still such a corny bastard though,” he scoffed a laugh. He had to get away from the thought of a wedding. “Kept going on about how ‘Tai taught a twin how to tie a tie’ for years. It was awful.”

“For you? I’m sure that would be.” Clover echoed his scoff, and added a wink. Because he knows just how to bother Qrow. With a grin, he slapped Qrow’s arm to show he was teasing. “It’ll be fun tonight. Or interesting. Or both, I promise.” 

“Right.” Qrow shook his head, and followed him out of his room. 

“Hey,” Clover stopped at the door. Down the hall, Qrow could hear the girls chatting, their heels clacking against the tiled floor - but he forced himself to meet Clover’s eyes. “It’ll be fine tonight. And if not, at least you look damn good.” 

He winked again, and headed down the hall. Qrow only watched him start rounding up the kids, and let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. Ruby emerged from the girls’ room last, wearing appropriate but rather grown up dress that normally would have made Qrow look twice. 

“We’re going to be late!” She called to him waving down the hall. “You look really nice!” She said with a bright smile before pulling him to catch up to the rest of her team. 

“Yeah, uh,” Qrow smoothed down his tie, forcing himself to step forward. “Thanks kid.” 

She looked between Qrow, and Clover near the front of their little crowd. “Sure.” She shrugged her shoulders. Ruby smiled knowingly before slipping in with her friends.

Qrow shook his head, and ran a hand through his hair. So he was that obvious about it? He sighed to himself, and made a decision. Clover was not pulling any punches between them, and neither was Qrow. The next time they see each other, and Clover gave him that damn and cocky wink, Qrow would return the favor. 

He was already dressed for the elites’ entertainment - might as well give them a show.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah yeah; crunch times, resources, character design and modeling - there are plenty of reasons why CRWBY didn’t use fancy dresses/suits for the Schnee Manor episodes  
> …….but would it have killed them?  
> Stay tuned for the last day of FG Week tomorrow! It won't be officially included in the series because I've been planning it for a while, and the FG content will be light, and it certainly won't be as fluffy as the previous fics are - but it IS free day, so I hope you'll drop by :D  
> Comments are always appreciated, let me know if you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!


End file.
